I don’t know about you, but I love putting YouTube on while I clean or if I just need a mental break from things. However, I am a little picky about who I watch. I don’t like when someone is constantly trying to sell me products or those who only sponsor products for the money. I like a genuine and honest individual who enjoys what they do and appreciates the people that follow them. I also only choose to watch people that are body positive and working toward their own body acceptance and love. With these preferences in mind, I lean more toward British YouTubers for content. Also, as a disclaimer, as a white woman, I identify most with other white women. However, there is a multitude of women of color on YouTube who are equally as amazing and inspiring as these women (like Grace Victory). Seeking out and supporting a diverse group of women is essential. So here are a few whom you may or may not have heard about:
- Lucy Wood
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Lucy Jane Wood is a “midsize” YouTuber for the transitional sizes between thin and curvy/plus-size categories. Aside from filling a gap in representation for body confidence, she does a lot of try-on videos for the midsize girl to determine if brands are midsize-friendly. She has a stellar sense of humor, as well as being open and honest about her own body issues and the problems that many clothes pose for self-confidence. Since I started working on this article, she has come out with a video on body confidence that is important for anyone. It is a must-watch because she voices many of the issues everyone can experience and ideas that I try to live my life by. Lucy is easily relatable, she definitely makes you want to invite her over for a sleepover and wish she was your best friend.
- Hannah Witton
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Hannah Witton is one of my favorite YouTubers. She’s an author, sex educator, and living with a disability. As a kid, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. She had intermittent flare-ups but lived with it in remission for most of her adult life. Almost two years ago, she had to have an emergency ileostomy (the large intestines removed and a stoma is created). Over the last two years, her channel transformed to include content about disabilities, especially sex and relationships for those with disabilities. As a person with disabilities, it’s easy to identify with her. I turn to watch her when I need to feel more empowered about my body. Her experience getting the copper coil IUD significantly contributed to my decision to get one as well. If you have questions about sex, relationships, or disabilities, she is an easily digestible resource to turn to if you’re nervous to talk to people in your life about it.
- Emma Tamsin Hill
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Unwavering confidence. That’s all I can think of when I think of Emma Tamsin Hill. She started her channel primarily doing try-on hauls for plus sized women. With hilarious, brutally honest reviews of the clothing, she won’t leave you wondering if she feels comfortable in the outfit or not. But off of YouTube, she did a documentary about being fat and relationships which helped her launch her brand. Allbody UK is an inclusive brand for everyone. Her brand is appealing and straightforward for all body shapes (see what I did there), genders, ages, and abilities without clearly being a YouTuber brand. Her YouTube is excellent, as well as her Instagram, where she regularly posts stories instead of doing the typical vlogging video on her channel.
Overall, each of these women have helped me in some way with my own body acceptance and love. Each has a different perspective on mental health, disability, and the physical body. They also have different styles of YouTubing which I think is important in trying to approach one’s own body confidence and self-love outside of traditional beauty standards.